Of the four, The Hill at least has an excuse. The Hill’s business model is to take any political news, no matter how ridiculous, the retweet the same story, multiple times over the course of the day, typically with hyped up headlines.

Why NBC or MarketWatch would repost trash from the Washington Post is a mystery.

Non-Shocking Celebration

The Washington Post made this amusing claim: “The ebullient reaction among high-ranking Russian officials — including some who U.S. officials believe had knowledge of the country’s cyber campaign to interfere in the U.S. election — contributed to the U.S. intelligence community’s assessment that Moscow’s efforts were aimed at least in part at helping Trump win the White House.”

Given that Trump was more favorable to Russia than Clinton, it would have been shocking if Russia did not celebrate Trump’s win.

Somehow, the mindless editors at the Washington Post could not figure this out. Worse yet, and arguably more likely, they did not care.

The Washington Post article concluded with “Russia also used social media and ‘fake news’ platforms as an ‘accelerant’ to try to boost Trump and undermine Clinton, the second official said.”

No one is more guilty of “fake news” than the Washington Post.

Subject to Interpretation

Without realizing the irony, NBC offered this tidbit “Highly classified intercepts illustrate Russian government planning and direction of a multifaceted campaign by Moscow to undermine the integrity of the American political system,” said the official.

Apparently it’s OK for the US to hack Russia but not the other way around. Further adding to the irony, the source also noted, “communication intercepts are viewed with caution because they are subject to interpretation“.

So we have yet another bullsh*t story on Russia running rampant in at least four media organizations, started by the Washington Post, despite a caution the story is “subject to interpretation” and despite the fact it would have been major news if Russia didn’t cheer the election of Trump.

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This runs much deeper than the MSM. When you see John McCain and Lindsey graham joining democrats in this charade it is a clear indication of the industrial military complex sending war Hawks out to create war with Russia. It is a given that Clinton would have gone to war with Russia either directly or through a proxy. Many people in our government want war. Don’t believe anything you read from our intelligence agencies. It is clearly politicized with a full court press before trump takes over. Watch the story change or simply fade away over the next few months.

IN THE PAST six weeks, the Washington Post published two blockbuster stories about the Russian threat that went viral: one on how Russia is behind a massive explosion of “fake news,” the other on how it invaded the U.S. electric grid. Both articles were fundamentally false…But while these debacles are embarrassing for the paper, they are also richly rewarding. That’s because journalists — including those at the Post — aggressively hype and promote the original, sensationalistic false stories, ensuring that they go viral, generating massive traffic for the Post (the paper’s executive editor, Marty Baron, recently boasted about how profitable the paper has become)…only a tiny fraction of people who were exposed to the original false story end up learning of the retractions…

It would actually be a really, really cool development, if The Reality Show President ran a 24/7 feed of everything he was saying and doing (including snoring and combing his hair) directly to the whole world. Bypassing the traditionally privileged gate keepers once and for all. With Melania as 1st Lady, the show may even end up having some night time viewers….

It’s incredibly sad what has happened to journalism in these United States. It’s become a joke, particularly in the last 15-20 years. Looking back over the history of American journalism we produced some outstanding reporters in the field of investigative reporting. Today I can’t name a single American investigative reporter in the MSM worth his or her salt. All of them wear leashes and perform for their owners.

The media has always been the next to the last line of defense against tyranny. Essentially, that line of defense is gone. The outcome is obvious to any thinking individual.

The professional judgement, the careful research, the painstaking and thoughtful insight that the man stream media posses is so profound … they didn’t even have a clue how their own population was going to vote. They did not have an inkling that a large percentage of American people felt disenchanted and wanted change.

Their specialist economists, their sociologists, their seasoned political reporters – you name it – they got it utterly, completely, publicly, glaringly wrong.

But they can tell the their readers how the Russians feel. And their readers still believe them.

Interestingly the viewing figures of the BBC have been decimated of late. People just are no longer watching drivel. Christmas day figures were only 8-9mill for the BBCs main broadcasts. down 50% off their peak. The MSM are just panicking, as they realise they are losing control over the populous. And please refrain from calling them ‘elite’. I prefer the term ‘Pseudo-Liberal Authoritarians’.

News by omission is no better than false agenda, cannot retain legacy of depth by selective truths and promotions. Public won’t be sold this in the name of overhaul and modernity. News has to remain properly grounded and impartial, not a partisan mouthpiece. It costs no more for thorough reporting as for stylized, and entertainment value has no place in world affairs, so there is obviously some other influence at hand.

The whole article pits Trump against the due credibility of US intelligence.

If I were to guess, I would say they want Trump crucified before he is in a position to discredit a swathe of deep state. Last shot? Don’t think so, these people are persistent and don’t relinquish. Only other plausible is they want to position Trump publicly as victor.

They put forth nothing if you watched the testimony of the intel community. Even stated the Russians did not hack voting machines.

The emails from the DNC, Hillary, Podesta, and Schultz are true and exposed the corruption of the DNC and Hillary. I do not see the problem really and applaud the leaker/s for exposing how corrupt these people are. Of course that is not the point the sheeple do not have a right to see it for what it is.

The Russian conspiracy garbage is just an attempt by the Dems to delegitimize the Trump presidency just like th “Obama was born in Nigeria” garbage was an attempt to delegitimize the Obama presidency. It is a new feature of American politics because it works. Each side needs to control their respective sheeple.

Runs a bit deeper than that though. Looking at EU and the persecution Russia has been through, not Ukraine but on a wider basis that shows clear premeditation ( thinking Cyprus or locally in other nations). Some Russians are people that you would not want to mix with, but great majority are good people who add their own unique touch. Great shame really, it plays out in the ordinary lives of ordinary people. I don’t side with either US/west or Russia at a state level, suffice to say our own policies are often completely tactless, if not worse.

Jon, do tell, how many main stream news sources were publishing and promoting Obama’s birth certificate or non-American nationality?
Same thing but MUCH different. There are people saying crap all of the time but when our MSM actually promotes propaganda against a significant portion of America, THAT IS DIFFERENT.

That is not the difference that stands out to me, it is the depth of the accusations and what they imply. Talking of presidential resignation over birth certificate vs. escalation in confrontation with a major country. The first is ‘trivial’ and in the hands of national process, the second is open to completely unknown repercussion by the hand of another. Somehow they have managed to combine both ( questioning his legitimacy and escalation) when it comes to Trump, as well as garnishing existing public antagonism into a front. Very different, not a good mixture.

The American political system has NO integrity, it’s every pundit out for themselves and each protecting the other criminals in the “system”, it’s why the hate Trump so intensely, who appears not to be a member in the gang bangers’ now located in DC.

This whole Russian hacking now Russian celebrating calls into question all the news that has been reported by “journalist” for the last 100 years. With the development of raido and tv has the media always been a willing propagandist tool for the government. Were the so called investigative reporting just created to serve a larger elitist agenda. We are not skeptical or inquisitive to develop our bs meter when we read, listen or watch the news no matter the source.

Not really. The media had strict regulations on ownership and size up until the mid-80’s with the objective being to provide a broad range of views. Those laws were eliminated under the guise of “deregulation” and freedom of speech which has allowed the MSM to be consolidated into just a few hands. And those hands have deep influence on the government and vice-versa.

I remember watching 60 Minutes in the ’70’s and they would do a lot of anti-corporate stories about fraud and abuse. You would never see that now.

Look up Walter Duranty, NYTimes “reporter”. Won a Pulitzer for favorable coverage of Russia/Ukraine in the early 1930s, basically an apologist for Soviet-perpetrated famine on the Ukrainian people, millions of deaths.

Imagine the 24/7 “Maalox Moment” that life has become for the grunt reporters, producers and presenters when told by their Malignant Overlords to “make this horth thit presentable”. Polishing their resumes with Shinola must be a monthly task.

Forget about the grunt reporters. What about the schmucks who WANT their names on the bylines of these articles? Greg Miller and Adam Entous don’t seem to be asking WaPo to keep their names off this poo, so they must be proud of it.

The WaPo publishes what it wants to be true. Publishing something that is actually true is just a coincidence.

When they report a crime story, they never give a description of the culprit. They only describe the clothes they were wearing. Must be to protect those darn Asian and Amish kids who commit so many of the crimes in DC.

They’ve recently done some expose’s on people who voted for Trump. One story was about a pro-wrestler. The other was some Andy Griffith town in North Carolina where people yern for the good old days when blacks were put in their place. I assume next they’ll profile a wife beater.

They seem to be oblivious as to why their circulation keeps dropping. They conveniently blame “the internet” but it’s not like former readers are even willing to pay one thin dime to read the garbage if it is paywalled. You can count on one hand the number of actual news stories in any big metro daily paper – 95% of the stuff is editorials, re-edited press releases, and zero-information human interest stories. It’s been that way for 25+ years. TV news is no better; a press conference is basically the same thing as a press release, its purpose is for the speaker to control the story and the so-called journalists are happy to oblige – even the reporters who actually DO want to do reporting are only allowed one question which basically means “I’m not giving you any information.” And the reporter is not allowed the time to go dig further because, like newspapers the editors only care about the deadline and couldn’t care less that the report is half-baked.

Take for example the murder rate in Chicago. You get dozens of anchors and reporters kvetching about it, but the only people they ask about it are the police. Which is completely stupid because there are only 3 things you can glean from the cops:
1) They know why but they would rather withhold the information
2) They don’t know why but they want to pretend they know and need to withhold the information they don’t actually have
3) They don’t care but they want to pretend they care and they want to pretend they need to withhold the information they don’t actually have.

40 years ago a reporter would never use a cop as his primary source, let alone his only source. Today reporters have allowed themselves to be nothing more than press agents for bureaucrats. That why so many of them, when they lose their newspaper or TV gigs, take jobs as press spokesmen for the fire department, the electric company, etc. It’s what they’re qualified for.

What I purport to know? Which one, that white people are disappearing? Just biological destiny, that’s all. The important thing is people’s reaction to it. What many on this site would describe in glowing terms as patriotic anti-globalism is nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction to white people slowing disappearing. Don’t worry, it will still take a few hundred years before we are all gone. There will be some holdouts in Idaho and Russia. Btw, the other races are disappearing as well, not just whites. That’s what happens when geographically isolated populations of the same species are thrown together. No biggie.

You make two completely distinct arguments in your initial post. I am willing to grant the second, I tend to agree with the inevitability of racelessness over time (granting of course that humanity is around long enough for that to happen). It is the first argument that I find lacking in proof. I wonder what evidence you are privy to that the rest of us are not, or what constitutes proof to you in the absence of evidence.

Apparently, if one’s position is that Russia actively interfered in our elections, then you need smoking gun proof. If you feel otherwise, you need…nothing. My specific statement was on fake news. Not the kind Mish talks about (lousy journalism), but actual FAKE news. I am not a tech guy, so I can’t point to smoking gun proof, but Russia propaganda has a modus operandi that has been well known, and discussed not only by our intelligence community, but also numerous news outlets, for many years. These are things that have been generally accepted long before the Trump debacle. Conservatives used to be the ones cheering this stuff on.

In addition to the many bots used to comment on social media, the Russians have literally thousands working full time to promote their agenda. Why wouldn’t they, most countries do that. Only a problem if a change in technology catches us with our pants down and it actually works. Fake news dissemination costs nearly nothing.

James, its like this: I have very little evidence, much less proof, that the Russians either invented, or at least heavily promoted, pizza gate. But I am convinced they were active participants. It’s Russian propaganda 101. Russian intelligence loves to paint its enemies (often internal dissenters) as pedophiles. Gets people all worked up, and is hard to completely disprove. Story popped right before the election. Could it have had something to do with Trump’s last second surge? You bet.

I can understand Trump supporters reflexively being skeptical of the Russian meddling angle. Despite what anyone says, the story is at least in part an attempt to weaken Trump before he even takes office. That doesn’t mean it is not true.

Thanks for fleshing that out redstate. I appreciate your position, but I fall on the side of skepticism with extreme prejudice when it comes to the national security state in general and the CIA in particular. They are all liars until proven otherwise.

That doesn’t make the Russians any better, but it does mean I am incapable of discerning whose reality is true.

Why would the Russians celebrate Trump’s victory? Hmmmmm…maybe because they wanted to avoid Global Thermonuclear War being pushed by the establishment, psychopathic Neo-Cons of both corrupted D.C. political parties…the Dims and the Repubes? Or “the Crips and the Bloods” as Jesse Ventura has so accurately labeled them?

Since, partly due to the widespread use of smart phones and a study which revealed that 6 out of 10 Americans only read headlines, supporting evidence for headlines within an associated column isn’t even necessary. Propaganda made easy by an idiotic majority.

Among those who may actually read an associated column, the widespread tendency for confirmation bias not metered by any learned ability for critical analysis makes it even easier still.

John Harwood asked who do you believe? Wikileaks or US intel officials?

Out of 11,000 votes, 70% responded Wikileaks.

Not a scientific survey, but it shows the government is having difficulty making its case. Belief is simply not the same as evidence. People are also catching on to what is seen as an orchestrated campaign against Russia, that has been going on since Yanukovich was overthrown in Ukraine- not by Putin.

Exactly. We keep hearing of this horrible invasion of Ukraine by Russia when it was the west who was trying to turn the Ukraine AWAY from Russia and towards the US/EU sphere of influence. It was only AFTER Ukraine’s elected president instead signed back with Russia, did HE lose his job, fleeing HIS country to be replaced by a Nazi US substitute who has yet to face any public vote.
Sadly it is the SILENCE of OUR media on this subject that I find the most alarming. No question, no discussion. As Always, the Debate is Over.

Anyone who knows the real story about Ukraine is in a very small minority because too many Americans simply don’t care about what is happening anywhere in the world other that the US and, if they do, they never bother to dig below the mainstream propaganda. That’s how the invasion of Iraq was so widely accepted as being necessary.

This time, as far as the claims of some in our intel community that the Podesta and DNC hacks were supposedly the work of “the Russians,” thanks to the obvious “slam dunk” lies about Iraq, anyone with more than half a brain and a memory doesn’t buy their claims outright.

In the immortal words of one of our former front men for the oligarchy, “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice………………….. we won’t be fooled again!”

An excerpt from that is found below and is EXACTLY what I’ve bee saying here.

And have I mentioned here how easy it might be for a really competent state-sponsored hacking team of a country who’d want Trump in office because they love Trump because Trump loves them, but that same country would not want a warming of US/Russian relations because of Russia’s support for Iran and Syria, how easy it would be for such a team to hack some highly competent foreign hackers and use their resources (malware, call-back servers) to accomplish BOTH goals at once?

Gosh, what country could that be? The same one that has recently claimed they were screwed in the UN by the US which made back room deals to rush a resolution to a vote and then abstained from voting on it (i.e., against it)? The same country whose Prime Minister has just now become embroiled in a very serious graft investigation? Sound like “back door” US retribution to you?

You KNOW that if this were true that it would NEVER be officially revealed, right? Read the outstanding investigative books by James Bamford about the NSA, specifically the material about what is and was known at the time about the Israeli attack on the USS liberty.

“The nuts and bolts of McAfee’s argument is that Russia, with it’s high level of sophistication in cyber-warfare, would never be stupid enough to leave the very obvious fingerprints that US Intelligence cites as the foundation of their case for Russian involvement in the DNC hacks. In other words, this isn’t how state actors penetrate networks and perform espionage.

McAfee specifically pointed to the following key arguments in the Grizzly Steppe report:

Russian language was found in the malware – which would make them borderline retarded.

A Cyrillic (Russian language) keyboard was used to create the malware.

The compiler (piece of software that finalizes the malware) time stamped the malware during Russian business hours.

IP address pointed to Russia – again, they’d have to be fairly new at hacking to do something like that.

All of which are the hallmarks of a 15 year old kid acting alone, or a poorly fabricated body of evidence.”

Actually, it was the tools and servers of a HIGHLY competent Eastern European FREELANCE group of hackers who, for reasons of hacker pride, don’t give a damn about what sort of origination tells they leave within their code. Street cred, you know… And how likely would they be to EVER admit THEY had been hacked?

No, John McAfee. I think he has established his bona fides. But in the interest of logical consistency and honesty, I think it is appropriate to be skeptical of him as well as the national security State. He has not shown any evidence either, although he makes a more compelling logical case than the CIA has.

He is a bit nuts, but also obviously an expert, so I do respect his opinion. Don’t necessarily agree with it in this case. The Russian approach is to throw tons of mud to the wall, as see what sticks. As such, each individual hack attempt is not necessarily that sophisticated. I believe initially they were not even attempting to alter the outcome of the election. Since what Russia was doing is par for the course for them, and everyone knows they do it, they may not have even been all that concerned with covering their tracks.

To me that sounds like a more likely scenario than Winston’s theory that the Jews did it. 🙂

Oh, gosh, I’m sorry, they’re on the “fake news” hit list even though they have been right on economic subjects far more frequently that anyone in the mainstream financial media, the Fed, the ECB, and the IMF. True, that isn’t saying much because it’s so damned easy to be so.

They’re in good company though, being on that list with Charles Hugh Smith’s Of Two Minds site and former Reagan budget director Davis Stockman’s Contra Corner. Granted, most of the Zero Hedge reader comments aren’t worth reading, however.

The value of ZH? They publish for my skeptical review often detailed information or leads to that info that the biased MSM either won’t report, will spin, or will dumb down to the point of uselessness in consideration of their readership.

Note that there is NO confidence level ascribed to the excerpted part of the new report included below as was done elsewhere in the report and it is no more than information which could have been compiled by anyone reading the news even before this “the Russians did it” thing came up. The only difference is the continued, technical info unsupported claim that “the Russians did it”… while leaving behind all kinds of evidence that is was an attack originating from Eastern Europe because it was so freaking brilliant to do so, with Russian terms left in the code along with Moscow time zone compile times.

This “report” is nothing more than a repetition of facts known to anyone following this topic from the beginning. There is ZERO TECHNICAL PROOF OF ANY KIND in it anywhere.

Relevant excerpt related to the actual hacking:

Cyber Espionage Against US Political Organizations.

Russia’s intelligence services conducted cyber operations against targets associated with the 2016 US presidential election, including targets associated with both major US political parties.

We assess Russian intelligence services collected against the US primary campaigns, think tanks, and lobbying groups they viewed as likely to shape future US policies. In July 2015, Russian intelligence gained access to Democratic National Committee (DNC) networks and maintained that access until at least June 2016.

The General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) probably (probably?! – W) began cyber operations aimed at the US election by March 2016. We assess that the GRU operations resulted in the compromise of the personal e-mail accounts of Democratic Party officials and political figures. By May, the GRU had exfiltrated large volumes of data from the DNC.

Trump loves the security state. He aspires to be the Biggest Brother yet. His reaction to the Russia hacking does not evince otherwise. In this case, he just doesn’t like the conclusion. Once he controls the agencies, then he will proclaim their assessments to be like his plumbing fixtures, golden. For one example, remember Apple’s resistance to helping the government open a dead shooter’s seized iPhone. Said Trump then, “Boycott Apple until such time as they give that information,’ … Apple ought to give the security for that phone, OK. What I think you ought to do is boycott Apple until such a time as they give that security number. How do you like that? I just thought of it. Boycott Apple.” ( Donald Trump calls for Apple boycott – CNNPolitics.com, http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/19/politics/donald-trump-apple-boycott/ (last visited Jan. 6, 2017).)
Trump protecting us against an invasive U.S. security apparatus? No way. In a craving for extortion-ready dirt, Trump will make J. Edgar Hoover look like a constitutional choir boy.
Michael Flynn is as much an outsider to intelligence as the econ nominees are to GS.
Meet the new boss. Far, far worse than the old boss, has hard as that might be to accept.

You could be right, but he can’t do it all by himself. He is certainly making no friend in the national security state right now. What’s he gonna do, fire all of them and replace them with … who exactly? Not like they’re air traffic controllers.

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